Congressman: ATF says it was not part of gun list request

Apr. 17, 2013

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JEFFERSON CITY — The federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms says it had no involvement in requests for the list of Missouri concealed carry permit holders, a U.S. Congressman said today.

U.S. Rep. Blaine Luetkemeyer of Missouri said in a statement that he had spoken with a top official from the agency who said there was not a joint venture with the Social Security Administration Office of the Inspector General.

It has previously been revealed that an investigator from the Social Security Administration twice requested and twice received a list of the concealed carry permit holders that was compiled by the Missouri Department of Revenue and provided by the Missouri State Highway Patrol.

On Tuesday, copies of emails from the patrol were given to reporters by Sen. Kurt Schaefer, R-Columbia. One the emails indicated that at least one of the requests was coming as part of a “joint venture” between the Social Security Administration and ATF.

In the statement, Luetkemeyer said he was given assurances the ATF had no interest in the list during a 15-minute phone call.

“According to the ATF, they believe the mention of their agency in the email in question, written by an intelligence analyst at the Missouri Information Analysis Center, was the result of the analyst’s attempt to add weight to the request of an SSA OIG investigator sent to the state, but that’s where it ended,” Luetkemeyer said.

Last week, Col. Ronald Replogle, commander of the patrol, told a Senate committee that the list was requested by an investigator who wanted to compare the list to a list of people receiving Social Security disability benefits for mental illness. An email released by Schaefer from the investigator confirms Replogle’s testimony.

“The purpose for this list is to cross match it to the Social Security Administration database for people who are currently collecting disability for a mental illness,” the investigator wrote.